The Dead and the Dying
by Vadim
Summary: Months after Gift, all peaceful in Sunnydale...Big trouble brewing down South...familiar faces return...Buffy is brought back, but not by who you think!...Chapter 3 is up! R&R!
1. The Turn

South America - December 21, 2001

Title: The Dead and the Dying

Author: Vadim

Rating: R

Disclaimer: Nothing, but the ideas is mine, maybe some new characters, that's it. Everything belongs to Joss Whedon and all that other good stuff!

Summary- Couple months after gift. All seems peaceful in Sunnydale, Christmas is days away. New Year's. Everyone is in a pretty somber mood. What they don't know is that something "BIG" is brewing down south. Buffy brought back. But not by who you think!! 

South America - December 21, 2001

The gloomy look in their eyes said a lot. The fact that each of them had sparkling white fangs to begin with said a lot. It didn't matter now. Nothing did. Thoughts were racing through his mind, his hands trembled as he looked around for some subtly hidden escape route which he had overlooked. His breathing quickened as he realized there was none. 

__

" Come on, damn it! Think! I can't go out like this...there's gotta be a way out...now to find it!" He tried clearing his thoughts, but as his eyes focused in on the rapidly-moving figures approaching him, his thoughts quickened and became more diverse.

__

" Why the hell am I here...oh shit...shit...they're here...almost here...I could be back in Sunnydale... family...Buffy...and Dawn...look damn it...you must've overlooked somethin'...nice big house...nothing like the cheap crap they have here...oh God, a door...a door...yes!" Making a mad dash towards a door, a door barricaded by about three crates and covered in graffiti of sorts, the man saw his assailants out the corner of his eye.   
They were fast. All six of them.

The door jammed the first couple of tries, but finally gave in. The man cleared the threshold just in time, as the door slammed shut, literally milliseconds, before one of the beasts could slip a finger in. Taking a quick and much-needed breath, the man looked back, for a moment, at the door that had prolonged his life another minute, just to see it fly off its hinges nearly missing his head.

" Fuck!"

" Yes, you are!" One of the beasts had finally spoken up throughout this whole melee.

" Get away from me you beasts! I...I did nothing to you!"

" Beasts. What a harsh word. We prefer to be called vampires. And yes, you did do something to us. But enough talk! Now you die, human."

The man tried to gather himself as best he could and maybe continue on with his mislead life for just a bit longer. He had happened to survey his new surroundings and realized that he had broken into a motel. Broken in. How about just twisted the knob. As he scrambled to his feet, in his head, he thanked the country of Venezuela for having such cheap and, apparently, low security housing.

He had now broken into a full sprint down the dimly lit hallway. He didn't bother to turn around. He knew they were there. They were right there breathing down his neck every step of the way, but yet still unable to get to him. He turned up the flight of steps without even glancing down. Two at a time, three at a time, even four steps at a time he had hopped. It is amazing what the fear of dying could do to a person. He had not cared for the broken glass that had smothered the carpeted floor. Every piece of glass that got lodged in his sneakers just made him run faster. Finally after reaching the top floor of the five-floor building, he looked down into the eerie darkness below.

Nothing.

It couldn't be. He had felt them. They were chasing him. Did they stop? Had he managed to outrun them? These thoughts, among others flowed through the middle-aged man's exhausted mind. He stumbled to the ground, completely drained, and leaned his near-lifeless body against the railing.

" It's not that easy." 

The man flung his head up, sweat beading immensely from his forehead.

It was like the thing was able to read his mind. There was only one of them standing in front of him. For him, that was plenty.

"Honestly, did you think you were going to outrun us. Ha, ha!" The vampire was now leaning over the man's shoulder, eyeing his neck, and whispered into the man's ear.

" Don't worry, I'll make the pain last as long as possible."

__

"So this is how my life ends...come on Hank...give the sonofabitch one last parting shot...goodbye life..." With that thought in mind, the man swiftly swung his husky right arm towards the deformed face of the vamp.

The shot was a good one, mainly because it had caught the vamp off guard.

"Shi...t!" The vamp examined his broken nose, as the defiant man ran off down the hall. Instead of giving chase, the hurt vamp merely got up and pulled out a 12-gauge from under his coat and aimed at his fleeing victim. He was sick of chasing the guy and was going to end it now.

As he ran down the hall, the man eyed the pretty big window he was quickly approaching. And then, for a split second, his mind was clear. He heard absolutely nothing, except the unmistakable pumping of a 12-gauge shotgun. There was only one way out and little time to reach it. Even if he had reached the window, the fall would probably kill him. But all that had evaded his line of thinking as he dove through the unsteady and already broken window.

He never heard the shot go off as it was barely audible over the noise caused by his flying through the window.

__

"What am I doing?" was the last thought that went through his mind, before he violently crashed onto the roof of a parked car below. The shot had missed him.

__

"So this is death...nothing. Or maybe I'm already in hell. My own private hell. Wait...I...I'm breath...breathing...can't feel anything...oh fuck it hurts..." Thoughts clouded his mind again as he tried to open his eyes. At first his blood-covered and glass-pierced body would not respond, but slowly he began moving his arms and through a lot of pain, moved his leg.

" I survived," he quietly reminded himself. " I fuckin' survived! Yeah!"

His happiness over this new discovery would be short-lived.

" Nope, I'm sorry buddy, but you kinda didn't." The other five vampires quickly discovered him and were now hovering over him. His eyes were half open, but the view was good.

Throughout the whole chase from the bar through the streets and finally to the motel, the fleeing man failed to notice something very peculiar about his pursuers. Now that they were all hovering over him and he knew that he was at his end, he happened to look them over.

They were soldiers of some sort. They had the camouflaged uniforms of some army group. Those his vision was impaired by the blood flowing over his eyes, he easily made out the uniforms. They were Americans.

The leader of the group stepped forward and knelt down by the fallen man.

" Ah, the infamous Hank Summers."

" H...how do you know me? Who are you? W...what do you want from me?"

" Oh, I know a lot about you Mr. Summers. More than you think. The point is that you we need you dead. and well not just dead, but well, one of us."

Hank Summers had never been more astonished in his life. What the hell was happening? He didn't know. He had heard about vampires, but was never too interested in them or for that matter believed in them. Till tonight. If he was going to die then he wanted to stay dead and rest in peace. Not become one of them. Not a vampire. Right now, though, he had no choice.

"I'll see you in a little bit, Mr. Summers. Trust me, I think you'll like being one of us."

"Please, God, noooo!!!" 

With that, Hank Summers' life was to come to an end and then...to a new beginning.

But before he died, Hank Summers' caught a bit of information that would help him in his so-called "afterlife." 

As the head vampire was about to strike, Hank noticed the name that was etched onto the army uniform. He barely made out what it said, before the sharp fangs punctured his neck.

"F...Finn," was the last word uttered by Hank Summers and it was followed by a loud cry of pain and then silence. 

******************************

Sunnydale - December 22, 2001

It was a beautiful night outside. The Sunnydale streets were lit up with the bright lights from all the little shops and restaurants. Hanukkah had already concluded a couple of days before and Christmas was quickly approaching. Everyone was in the holiday spirit. The streets were packed with scurrying parents trying to get in some last minute shopping; friends huddled tightly on the benches, sipping cocoa, laughing it up; youngsters running around throwing snowballs at each other, rarely connecting.

__

" Swearing is not permitted, William...treat customers with respect, William...why don't you ever work during the day, William?"

The job wasn't all that bad. Except for a few buggers, the management was okay. Starting pay at seven bucks. But the main thing that it had going for it was the all-black uniforms.

**Beep**

__

" Can't a guy get a moment's rest around 'ere?"

**Beep**

__

" Hold your bloody horses, I'm comin'...I'm comin'..."

" Hi, welcome to McDonald's, this is William speaking, how may I help you?" 

" Spike?"

" Harris?" This was the first time Spike had seen any of the scoobies here. " What are you doin' 'ere?"

" I'm hungry. This is McDonald's. What in the hell are you doing in there?"

" Can't a person try and make an honest buck these days without bein' harassed about it by ignorant blokes like say, yourself?"

" A person, yes. You, no."

" You come 'ere to piss me off or you actually want somethin'?"

" Just give me...um...a cheeseburger."

" Would you like fries with that?"

" Ha, ha... I was waiting for you to say that! Give me a large fry and a Coke also."

" That be $4.23 at the first window."

" Thank you sir." Xander was frantically trying to control his laughter as he would soon pull into Spike's view.

His black Ford Explorer had soon pulled in front of Spike's window. He had gotten promoted at his construction job to a managerial position. This was what had become of it.

" You 'ere on your own? No Anya? Swear you two were just inseparable."

" Yeah, well, I don't know if the dead still celebrate it, but Christmas is just three days away."

" Oh, and I see someone has forgotten all 'bout it. And you bein' with a former vengeance demon an' all."

" As a matter of fact, I'll let you know that I did all my shopping a long time ago and I..."

" And you were just picking it up right now." Spike had kindly finished the sentence for him.

" Well ye...wait a sec. Since when do I have to answer to you?"

" It ain't me you'll have to answer to, Harris. It's your woman."

Xander had just finished giving Spike the money and was waiting for his change, as Spike took an extra long time taking it out.

" And by the way, **I** finished getting all my goodies a long while ago. I may be dead, but I'm not dumb," Spike quickly added as he gave Xander the change.

" Speaking of which, how did you land this job? Hold the manager hostage till he gave it to you?"

" Actually, I was very polite 'bout it and talked all friendly and, heck, those ol' blokes couldn't get enough a me. Then they found out what they had actually gotten."

" So why did you get this job?"

" I bloody told you already. I needed money. I **am** supposed to look after Dawn, maybe get her a teddy bear once in a while. Also, the crypt is gettin' kinda ol'."

" Why keep it a secret?"

" Hurts the image. Big bad vampire working at McDonald's. Yeah right. I didn't want there to be a big fuss 'bout it." 

" So you gonna stop by tonight, visit Dawn, we got a frig full o' blood and not much to do with it." 

" When don't I stop by to visit the nibblet?"

" Never, Spike. Always there."

" Hey, I'll bring the booze."

" Just what we need, a drunk Dawn."

" You want booze or what?"

" Sure Spike. We'll just have to wait till she's sleeping."

" Alright Harris, get a move on. You're holdin' up my line."

" See ya Spike." 

With that, the Explorer pulled ahead to the next window. The conversation took up a couple of minutes and when Spike looked up at the screen, cars were lined up to the street.

" Bloody hell."

These types of conversations were not uncommon between Xander and Spike. At first they would always snap at each other, but in the end, always ended up in good spirits. Over the past couple months, after Buffy's death, they had become better friends. Most times, the bickering brought them even closer.


	2. Sometimes They Come Back

Aslayerlesscity

Title: The Dead and the Dying

Author: Vadim

Rating: R

Disclaimer: Nothing, but the ideas is mine, maybe some new characters, that's it. Everything belongs to Joss Whedon and all that other good stuff!

Summary- Couple months after gift. All seems peaceful in Sunnydale, Christmas is days away. New Year's. Everyone is in a pretty somber mood. What they don't know is that something "BIG" is brewing down south. Buffy brought back. But not by who you think!!

Outskirts of Houston, TX - December 22, 2001 

The road was empty, except for a few field mice and mosquitoes. In the darkness the road seemed endless. Fields stocked with barley, wheat, and corn formed walls on both sides of the road. It was the countryside.

Off in the distance a light rumbling could be heard. The rumbling was growing louder and soon a truck began to take shape. The truck steadily made its way down the road, slowing its pace lightly. The moon glistened off the side of the truck, brightly illuminating it. The words on the side could easily be made out.

" UNITED STATES ARMY 

SPECIAL OPS. " 

The only house visible on the long stretch of road was part of a huge farm to which all these crops belonged to. It had a big red barn, a mill, a stable, all the works. This was the destination of the truck, as it slowly made its way down the side road which led up to the house. It wasn't as much a road, as it was a path covered with loose gravel and weeds. The well-lit house indicated that someone was indeed at home. The truck pulled up behind a beat-up Chevy Cavalier. The occupant of the house came to the door upon hearing the arrival of the truck. The driver opened the door and hopped down.

" What's up, Doc?"

" Mr. Finn, glad to see you have returned. Have you completed your assignment?"

" Yeah, the old guy is in the back with the rest of the team. They're getting acquainted."

" Good...good. They will pay for what they did. Every last one of them. Especially that damn vampire. He couldn't save one and he won't be able to protect the other."

From inside the house came the other occupant of the house.

" Oh Spiky will pay alright. Treat me like I'm his sex bitch and then throw me to the curb, will he? He'll curse the day he ever met me!"

" Harmony, oh how I've missed you, baby." Riley ran towards his sire, as they embraced in a deep kiss.

Finally they broke it.

" Oh Riley, I've missed you too. You know how lonely it can get when you're stuck on an abandoned farm, miles from civilization, with an..." Harmony subtly motioned to Doc. " ...old guy?"

" Well I'm here now, and that's all that matters."

Doc was walking towards the truck, while the two lovers talked. The rest of the commandos were getting out of the truck with Hank Summers by their side.

" Good work gentlemen. You will all be rewarded shortly." Doc informed them, as he examined the newly transformed Hank Summers. " How do you feel, Mr. Summers?"

" Like a new man. I've never felt this way in my life. I love it."

" You are aware that you're dead?"

Hank sighed. " Yes...everything comes with a price, doesn't it?"

" Yes, I suppose it does."

" But I've so many questions."

" As you should. But do not worry, everything will be answered shortly."

*****************************

Sunnydale - December 22, 2001

Spike had kept Ben's old Ford Taurus after Ben had been killed. With the quality of the police force in Sunnydale, Spike knew that he was safe driving it.

At the current moment, Spike was driving from work back to the Summers' house. He had made a quick pit-stop to pick up some booze and was now en route to visit his little niblit.

He was entranced on a thought as the street light had quickly changed from green to red. 

He never saw her.

****************************

The young lady didn't know what to think. It was as if she had just been born, yet she was positive that she had been around for years. As she walked the mysterious streets, she took time to notice all the lights and sounds. Music was playing, people were talking, stores were shining. She made her way up and down the streets not knowing where she was headed. She remembered waking up, getting out of her bed, and going for a walk. A walk to where, she wasn't quite sure. Everything just felt so strange.

" The Magic Shop "

She saw the shop from across the street and something clicked in her mind. It sounded familiar. The shop stood in between two brightly lit stores, so she could not tell whether it was open or closed. She decided on taking a closer look since it was the only thing that was familiar to her. The signal had switched to "WALK" and she began to slowly cross the street. She never made it. She was walking with her head down, thinking. Something in her head had told her to look up. She quickly raised her head and looked left to see a pair of bright oncoming lights. She was too late and didn't stand a chance.

******************************

Spike was thinking of a present he could get his niblit as his eyes scanned the shops.

Something inside of him told him to look back at the road, but Spike being Spike, pushed that feeling down and continued on with his thinking. When he had finally decided to take a glance at the road, it was too late.

"Oh Fuck!!!"

He used every last bit of strength that he had in his body into slamming the brake pedal. He hit it with such force that it sent a rippling up his whole body.

It was no use.

The impact was quick and devastating. The young lady had been thrown upon the car, smashing the front window, then was flung off when the car came to a stop. She was thrown a good twenty feet and lay prone in the middle of the road.

" Oh God...oh God...oh God..." The door swung open and Spike scrambled out, falling to the ground. He quickly looked up to see her laying there. He jumped up and ran to her.

The impact was loud. Everyone on the street had heard it and were quickly approaching. Some were yelling, some were whispering in awe, some were just silent.

Spike quickly reached the girl, who was laying face-down on the ground.

" Oh God...what did I do...no...no..." Spike slowly and carefully turned over the girl.

As he did so, the young lady, somehow, opened her eyes.

" Oh God...I'm so sorry...so sorry..." Spike had just realized she was breathing. " You're alive. You're alive!" Spike quickly turned to the crowd that had developed around them.

" She's alive! She's alive! Call 911, get help, she's alive!"

Suddenly Spike froze. He was looking up at the crowd, when something had occurred to him. It was the girl. It was something about the girl. Something inside told him not to look back down. He did. 

" B...B...Bu...Buffy?" His eyes were focused in on the girl's face. Except for a bloody lip, it looked fine.

Suddenly the young lady spoke.

" W...what happened? Where am I?"

" B...Buffy, it's you..." Spike kneeled over the girl motionlessly.

" Who? Where am I?"

" You're Buffy...you're Buffy!" Spike was in tears.

The young lady sat up. Spike tried to help her, but she didn't need it. Then she stood up to the amazement of the crowd and of Spike.

" Did you see that? She just got hit by a car and she just stood up! That's crazy!" Shocked spectators yelled out in amazement.

Spike got to his feet to face the girl.

" I'm so sorry...oh God... I'm so sorry. Oh Buffy..."

" Why do you keep calling me Buffy? Who the hell are you? And what in the hell gives you the right to go around and hit people with cars?"

Spike was blown away.

" What do you mean you're not Buffy? You are Buffy. And I'm Spike. Oh God I'm sorry..."

" Listen...S...pike. I don't care what you're name is or who you are, just pay attention to the road next time and leave me the hell alone."

With that the young lady began to amazingly walk away. Spike gave chase.

" Wait! Buffy, please wait!"

He caught up to the girl and spun her around.

" I said leave me alone!" She yelled, giving Spike a roundhouse kick to the face, sending him flying onto his car. Then she left and soon disappeared from view.

Spike lay on the hood of his car, holding his face in pain.

" Buffy..." he whispered in the midst of the pain.

******************************

" So where's Spike?" Dawn anxiously paced around the living room.

" I already told you, Dawn. Spike had to stop at the store first. He's gonna be here."

Xander decided to keep the whole Spike at McDonalds thing a secret. It would probably save him a lot of hassle later.

" Dawn is right though, Spike should've been here an hour ago," Willow said, as she took a seat by Tara on the couch.

" Personally, I can't wait for Spike to get here 'cause of the booze, " Anya stated rather loudly.

" Because of the what? " A curious Dawn had turned her attention to Anya.

" Nothing, Dawn, " Xander said as he gave Anya a quick glance. " Don't pay attention to Anya."

" What?" Anya inquired, quite surprised. " Frankly, I haven't gotten hammered for a good three months now. I don't know how much longer I can hold out."

" Anya!" Everyone shouted in unison.

" Not everyone in this room, " Xander nodded at Dawn, " can you know what."

" Oh yeah, sorry...guess I forgot."

" Hey guys, " Dawn came forward, " don't let me ruin your fun. I don't like alcohol anyhow. It makes me all queasy. When I was little, I had some wine at a party, then...well...puked."

" Oh Dawny, it's not because of you." Tara spoke up. " It's just that we don't want to give you any bad influences."

" Don't worry about it. Now let's watch some T.V. till Spike gets here."

Soon everyone was huddled around the television, watching the Garfield Christmas Special.

***********************************

" Buffy..." Spike mumbled again before realizing what had happened and he quickly rolled off the car.

"_ I gotta get outta 'ere. Someone 'ad to call the cops. Gotta go...now! _"

He hopped into the car, which was still running, and sped off. The crowd was too preoccupied with the whole scene to identify the car. Also who'd believe them. No victim. No assailant. No problem.

He sped up and down every street he could, but there was no sign of her. Anywhere. She had just disappeared. He decided to do the only thing he could do. Head to the house.

The lights were on when Spike pulled up to the house. He hopped out of the car, grabbed the beer, and went towards the house. He was welcome at the house, so he just flung the door open and walked in. He was still in shock.

" Spike!" Dawn cried. Everyone turned their attention from the T.V. to the visitor at the door.

" Yeah, it's me. " He sighed as he flung the bag full of beer onto an armchair.

" What's wrong?" Willow easily noticed that something wasn't right by the expression on his face.

Spike looked the group straight in their eyes and came out and said it.

" I saw 'er."

" Saw who?"

"B...Buffy."

" Run that by us one more time. " Xander couldn't believe what he had just heard.

" I said I saw Buffy."

Dawn's eyes widened in fear more than shock. She slowly started to back away.

" Is that some kind of sick joke?" Xander gleamed with anger.

" No Harris, it's no bloody joke! I said I saw 'er and that's the bloody truth!" Spike yelled.

" But Spike, Buffy's been dead for months now, you know that." Willow calmly said.

" I....I know...and that's what makes it so strange."

" You're sure you saw her. Maybe you were just imagining it or something."

" Trust me, Red. I know what I saw. I saw Buffy. There was no doubt about it."

Dawn swallowed hard at the statement.

" Wait a sec, " Xander calmed down. " Tell us what happened."

Spike sighed. 

" Well...I...I was headin' 'ere from the store when I got caught up in a thought. And...well...I never saw the light change...poor girl."

" Oh my God! You hit a girl?!?!" Xander cried out as the others gasped.

" It...it was a young lady...'bout twenty...by the time I looked up it was too late. She got thrown on to the 'ood and then when I stopped she flew off. I was in shock. I jumped out the car and ran over to 'er. The whole street 'eard the hit and they 'ere all crowdin' 'round me and the girl."

" Did you kill her? " Willow gasped.

" I thought I did. Till she started movin'. I turned 'er over and realized it was...Buffy. I tried to help 'er, but poor love didn't need it. She 'opped up on 'er own and started on 'er way."

" And you're sure that it was Buffy?"

" The girl looked just like 'er."

Willow had a revelation.

" Wait a second. The Buffybot. I programmed her to go shopping for us. Could it have been her?"

Dawn's head flew up. She took a deep sigh of what seemed to be relief.

Spike's head also slowly rose up. He never thought about that. It could've been the Buffybot who he had hit.

Then he remembered.

" No...it wasn't 'er. She kept denying that her name was Buffy. Also she sure as 'ell didn't recognize me. She even attacked me after I went after her. This was no Buffybot."

Dawn backed up when she heard Spike say that it wasn't the bot.

" Then if what you're saying is true and it wasn't the Buffybot, then it was Buffy." Willow said.

" But how?" Xander still couldn't believe it.

" You're sure it was Buffy, " this time it was Tara.

" For the last time, " Spike was getting frustrated. " I was looking straight into the eyes of Buffy Anne Summers. No bloody doubt 'bout it!"

Shivers went up and down Dawn's spine. She began to cry.

" Oh Dawny, " Tara and the rest of the group quickly turned their attention to the girl, who's dead sister was the center of this blown-out discussion.

"This has to be terrible on you, " Anya quickly ran over and cradled Dawn in her arms.

Dawn wept into her arms.

Xander came over to them.

" Let's get her to bed. She doesn't have to hear this."

" But...I ...I want...to..." Dawn managed to get out in between sobs.

" Dawn, you're tired. You've been up all day. Tomorrow morning, we'll talk about everything.

" Nooooo..." she cried.

Spike stepped up.

" Listen to 'em pet. We don't even know what's going on right now. It's all very confusing. Please...just go to bed, Anya 'ere, will go with you, won't you, Anya?"

" Yes, of course."

Dawn nodded her head.

" Okay, but tomorrow you tell me everything. Everything."

" Swear? "

" I swear." Spike came up and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

" Goodnight, Spike." Dawn whispered as she gave him a tight hug.

" Goodnight, niblit."

" Goodnight everyone."

" 'Night, Dawn." Everyone as together.

With that, Dawn and Anya made their way upstairs.

When Dawn had finally fallen asleep, the group met in the living room.

" So if what you say is true, how is she back?" Xander was still skeptical.

" Well, the first thought that crossed my mind on my way 'ere after the 'ole ordeal was that Red 'ere did some hocus pocus, and, poof, she was back. "

" None of us did anything. I had thought about it. The day after she died I wanted to, but couldn't. I don't know why, I just couldn't."

" Let 'er bloody rest. She saved this damned world so many times, you coulda let 'er be. She did 'er job, now let 'er rest."

The room fell silent. tears had filled everyone's eyes.

Spike got up and grabbed another beer.

" Anyhow, you know how that magic stuff is...never does come out right."

"Yeah..." Willow sighed as she agreed with Spike.

From the top of the stairs came a thump.

" What was that?" Anya spun around.

" It was nothing, An'. " Xander calmed her. 

" Maybe I should go check on Dawn,"

" Oh, just let the poor girl sleep." Spike said in between guzzles of his beer.

They did.

" Maybe we should get some rest ourselves, " Xander said. " We can figure out everything else in the morning."

" He's right, " Willow said, giving a loud yawn.

" Fine, " Spike agreed reluctantly. " Just make sure all the blinds are shut. We don't want fried Spike for breakfast, do we?"

" Sounds delicious, " Xander said with a smirk.

" Yeah, laugh it up, Harris. I'll come over there and shove this bloody bottle straight up your-"

" Boys, boys...stop the bickering and go to sleep." 

" Yeah...right..." Spike eyed Xander as he took his place in the armchair.

" Goodnight, Spike."

" Goodnight, Harris."

But the poor girl who was supposed to be sleeping, wasn't. She was quietly listening in on them. The whole conversation. The thump that they had heard was Dawn sinking to the floor. Spike's words still ringing in her ears:

"..._anyhow, you know how that magic stuff is...never does come out right..._" 

TBC...


	3. New Life

Title: The Dead and the Dying

Title: The Dead and the Dying

Author: Vadim

Rating: R

Disclaimer: Nothing, but the ideas is mine, maybe some new characters, that's it. Everything belongs to Joss Whedon and all that other good stuff!

Summary- Couple months after gift. All seems peaceful in Sunnydale, Christmas is days away. New Year's. Everyone is in a pretty somber mood. What they don't know is that something "BIG" is brewing down south. Buffy brought back. But not by who you think!!

Sunnydale - December 23, 2001

1630 Revello Drive was now fully submersed in the morning clouds. But it was still pretty warm out across the Sunnydale Streets during the coldest month of the year. Sunnydale hadn't had a White Christmas in many years and things weren't looking any different this year. But as far as Anya was concerned none of that mattered as long as she got what she wanted for Christmas.

" Hey everyone, it's Sunday! Only two more days till Christmas! Isn't this exciting?"

" Bloody 'ell..." Spike murmured, half-asleep, as he twisted in the armchair. " Will someone please shut 'er up...?"

" Hey, watch it. " Xander was quick to respond from his position on the couch. " That's my fiancée you're talking about."

" Presents and presents and even more presents, some eggnog, some turkey, then more presents! Yea!!" Anya continued parading around the house until everyone was involuntarily awake.

" Anya, sweetheart, shut up!" Xander had finally snapped and now joined Spike in protest.

" Hmmmph." Anya pouted and went into the kitchen to join the two witches in making breakfast.

Spike was in the process of getting up when the sound of familiar footsteps grabbed his attention.

" Mornin' sunshine, " Spike greeted the seemingly sleep-walking zombie girl.

"...Morn...ing..." mumbled the zombie girl named Dawn as she groggily made her way down the steps.

" Well, seems someone didn't want to get up just yet. " Spike chuckled.

" ...oomph..." Dawn slightly nodded her head and proceeded to the kitchen.

She had been crying that night. She had walked back to her room and had cried herself to sleep. Her hair was down, over her face, so Spike didn't notice the red marks under her eyes.

Willow walked in from the kitchen, still dressed in her pajamas, smiling as always.

" We got omelets cooking as we speak, and also those little sausages, which everyone likes, and of course, muffins. I think there's some O J left in the fridge and I'm also positive I saw some packets of blood somewhere in there. " 

" Ah, blood, the breakfast of champions, " Spike said as he made his way to the bathroom. " But first, gotta use the John." 

" So what are we going to do about the whole ' Buffy ' situation? " Xander questioned Willow once Spike had left the room.

" I don't know. I believe Spike, I guess...but it just seems so strange...so confusing." Willow shrugged her shoulders with frustration and plopped down on the couch.

" Why now? Who? Who could've brought her back and why? Xander pondered. " At first thought, I'd have guessed it was Spike himself, but he seems just as surprised as anyone. I still think it could've been his imagination or maybe the Buffybot. Did she even come back last night?"

" I don't think so. Unless we were asleep, but then she probably would've woken us, but what if something happened to her...something bad...maybe she couldn't defend herself or something...oh no..."

" Willow, Willow, come down. The Buffybot was probably what Spike had hit."

" But...but Spike said that she...she was bleeding and that she attacked him."

" Well, the blood part could've just been in Spike's mind, and the part about her beating him up, well who'd blame her. Hell, Spike is just about on everyone's hit list, and toss in that part about getting hit by a car. Seems to me that it was the Buffybot."

" Then why didn't she come home?"

" The impact probably fried some circuits." 

The creaking of the bathroom doorknob broke up the conversation.

" Ah, that was relaxin' 'nough, " Spike looked up at the two.

" Sure did take you a pretty long time, " Xander smirked.

" Well, you know us drinkers. But actually picked up a good piece of conversation, you know, with my vampire senses and all." Suddenly Spike's smile disappeared and was quickly replaced with an evil stare. " I repeat, I saw Buffy Anne Summers last night, and I won't rest till I bloody well find 'er." 

He swiftly made his way in between the two Scoobies, grabbed his duster, and straight out the front door he went.

" I'm outta 'ere..." he called back as he disappeared out the door.

Xander and Willow, just stood there, staring at the door then at each other.

" The sun!" Xander yelled as he rushed towards the door.

" Oh my...Spike...sun!!!" Willow sped behind Xander towards the door, as the others came in from the kitchen upon hearing the yelling.

The blinds were down last night. Could Spike have possible forgotten about the sun?

Xander, fearing the worst, flung open the door and ran out. 

" Oh shit!" He just stood there, taking in all the water as it slowly progressed down his face and soon the rest of his body. Standing there, soaking wet, he watched the water droplets form puddles in the cracks of the driveway. His eyes then shifted to the figure progressing down the sidewalk, also taking in all the rain.

" What the...?!?" Willow was astonished to be met by the huge downpour of water.

Xander just stood there astonished. There wasn't a speck of bright sky for miles, as the dark clouds encompassed Sunnydale.

" But...how did you know?!?!" Xander yelled over the crashing water to the progressing figure.

Spike just kept on walking and without turning around just pointed to his head. Xander barely made out what Spike was signaling through the blinding rain.

" Oh yeah, " Xander remembered. " The senses."

" Oh." Willow looked on, astonished.

*****************************

Outskirts of Houston, Texas - December 23, 2001

The sun was bright, but could hardly be seen inside the house. Riley and Harmony were still cuddled in bed, as they had been for the past six hours. The rest of the troops were in the basement, where they spent most of the daytime. The farm wasn't too shabby. The walls had held up, electricity was running, and the hot water was around for most of the day. The kitchen, the biggest room in the house, was currently occupied by Doc and Hank.

" Hey, not that I don't like being a...vampire...and all, but you think maybe after everything is said and done...well...maybe you could turn...m...me back?" Hank was one of them and had gotten to know most of them, but some tension still lurked around the house.

" Well, Hank, that's a mighty big favor to ask at such a time." Doc paced around the kitchen , but stopped to think it over. Finally, " It'll be tough, but...okay."

" You mean it?" Hank Summers was astonished at the quickness of this reply.

" Sure, why not? I mean if everything goes according to plan and everyone that needs to get killed off, gets killed off, well then sure you can be human again. I don't know why you'd want to be, though." 

" So you still haven't explained it to me fully, Doc. What are we doing?"

Doc took a sigh. _" Damn it! I really hate vampires. why did it have to be vampires...especially this moron..."_

" Listen, Hank. Your daughter and her friends ruined something really important to me. She is now dead and they're too incompetent to see what is happening. Her watcher is out of the picture and the vampire, just as well, should be."

" Vampire?"

" Yes. It seems that the slayer had befriended a vampire. Not just any vampire. A master vampire. I believe they called him...Spike...I think. Yes, Spike it was."

" Well this Spike shouldn't pose much of a threat to the plan, should he?"

Doc sat down and warily drank his coffee.

" From what I know, he was so broken up about her death that he went and killed every demon, good or bad, that he could get his hands on. He is feared around the world, but his emotions can get the better of him."

" What about...Buffy? I mean is she dead for good or...you know." Hank asked, hoping that he could get yet one more glimpse at his daughter. 

" First off, you have no soul. You shouldn't care. But just to let you know, between her...friends... there are two witches, a former demon, a vampire, a watcher, and the...key...or should I say former key. Between them they probably think that they could bring her back, and all the better, I really wanted to kill her myself, especially after she threw me...well that's another story...now go. Leave me alone. I've got to think."

Hank didn't say much else. His question about the plan wasn't answered, but he wasn't one to try and ask again. He just walked back to the basement to join the already progressing poker game. 

The bedroom door flew open with a bang. Doc's head flew up. _" Oh hell, why must I put up with this."_

" Oh shit. That was the best fucking sex I've had in my whole life...and shit, I'm dead." Riley grandly held his head up high, slyly grinning.

" It wasn't too bad for me either, Capt-, I mean Riley." Harmony had slowly come up to his side, covered in a thin and rather loose robe.

Riley's smile quickly disappeared as he store down Harmony.

" Excuse me?"

" Oh sorry, guess I spent too much time around Spiky."

" I always hated that guy."

" But you should've seen him in be---" Harmony had crossed that invisible line again, which indicated that she should better shut up. Quickly. " I mean...me too. I really hate him also." She continued with a strange twinkle in her eyes as she looked away.

" So when are we out of here?"

Doc, realizing the question was addressed to him, got up and walked to Riley.

" Tonight, once the sun sets. I have reservations made for a flight to Los Angeles. We depart at 9 p.m."

The words, Los Angeles, brought the smile back to Riley's face.

" Ah, good. Maybe while we're there we can pay Angel a little visit."

" Oh Angel!" Harmony hopped up and down with joy. " I saw him a few months ago. He and his group had me trapped and were going to kill me, but thought better of it. I always thought Angel was a pretty nice guy." The last comment brought an evil glare from Riley. " Sorry."

" No matter." Doc stepped in. " Los Angeles is not what we're after, at least not yet. Right now we are heading to Sunnydale to finish some unfinished business. 

" Yes, unfinished business." Riley walked away to the basement, leaving Harmony with the ' old guy '.

**********************************

Sunnydale- Dec. 23, 2001

As the rain dripped down his face, Spike realized that in his outrage he had left the Taurus parked in the Summer's driveway. It was too late to go back now as he had almost reached his crypt.

****************

Buffy Anne Summers opened her eyes to take in the world and maybe, today, understand it. It was the beginning of her second day back. Back from what, she did not know. All she knew, or thought she knew, was that she was dead. For months she had been stuck in darkness. There was no such thing as time where she was, so she was dumbfounded when she woke up into the night. By the decorations outside she knew it was somewhere around Christmas time. What year? What decade? Not a clue.

She felt very much alive in her short afterlife. Despite the complete darkness, she could still see images. Images of people, people she knew. Or thought she knew. She walked around, even ran, and sometimes jumped in the dark emptiness. But there was nothing around her. She slept, or thought she slept, and walked around, that's it. Despite there not being any light or anything at all in this 'limbo', she was able to hear. Who or what she was listening to, she did not know. She didn't care. It was something, and something was enough. There were two voices, out of the many, that stood out in her head. It was that of a girl and a man, talking. They were planning something. Their particular conversation kept reappearing in her mind. It was something important. That she was sure of. 

Soon after hearing the conversation, the darkness disappeared and she was brought into the light. How soon after, she couldn't decipher.

It was a new day and the sound of the rain had awoken her. She had no memory and, more importantly right now, she had no money. She had stuck around the streets from the previous night. She had gone back to the only place that had brought any interest to her.

' The Magic Shop' wasn't exactly Fort Knox so the bewildered slayer had no problem getting in.

Earlier that night she had explored the store, which was stocked with various liquids and powders and lots of weird stuff. It brought a certain feeling to her gut. She would give anything to remember the slightest thing. Anything. Tears had stormed her eyes and had stuck around for a couple hours as she let out her emotion. She was crying. Once again, she didn't really know for who or what?

At the current moment she had raised herself from the wooden chair she had fallen asleep on. The wooden table wasn't that bad of a pillow considering it was a wooden table. She rubbed her eyes, gave out a quick yawn, and plumped her head back down on the table. She looked off to the side, twirling a strand of her golden hair, trying to think. She thought of the previous night's events.

__

" Spike...Spike...God, that name sounds so familiar...he knew me...I hurt him...why?...he called me Buffy...he knew me...he hit me with a car...didn't hurt much...why?...maybe I'll go find him today...needle in a haystack...but...it's a start..."

She floated back into reality with the realization that she had broken into a store and the owner could be back soon. She looked around. A store. Stores have cash registers.

__

" Duh...Buffy...wake up...money...but stealing is bad...it's wrong...fuck it...guess I'll be a bad girl..."

She hurried around the counter and straight to the register. As she tried to get it open, she glanced around curiously and noticed a photo to the right of the register. It was of a man and a woman. They were embraced and laughing. Buffy's first thought was that these two were in love. It sparked something in her head, as if she was about to remember, but it quickly faded away, leaving her in emptiness again. Back to the register. 

__

" Guess we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way..."

She had felt a certain strength about her since she had first awoken, but it was only realized now. She took the defenseless register off the desk and proceeded to drop it repeatedly to the hard, wooden floor. On the third attempt she huffed and puffed and put all her emotions into the thrust. The wooden planks of the floor sprang up with a thundering boom. Parts of the register were scattered amongst the pieces of wood. What had caught Buffy's attention was the money. Appearently the owner had forgotten to empty it. There was easily three hundred in there, but she wasn't greedy. $250 was plenty. After all, she was a nice person at heart. Picking up the money from the floor, she noticed a black umbrella under the counter. Taking a glance out to the street she quickly grabbed it and scurried out into the rain.

__

" Mr. Spike...I hope you're still out there...somewhere..."

In a swift motion she propped open the umbrella and proceeded down the street. Where? This is what she'd leave up to fate.

**************************************

Breakfast is just what Dawn needed. She was looking forward to Willow's omelets and Tara's pancakes. Just as she was about to sit herself to the greatest breakfast she ever had, the yelling had shattered everything. She quickly sprang out of her chair, with new life in her legs, and raced to the door. Appearently she was too late as all that she had caught was the shocked expressions on everyone's faces.

"What happened?" She cried as she searched Willow's face for some kind of sign.

" Spike..." Xander gulped, " ...left."

" What do you mean he left. What the hell did you say to him?"

" Hey Dawny, be careful with you're choice of words." Tara tried to sound as supportive as possible in this time of shock.

" We...we didn't believe him." Willow said with tears slowly developing in her eyes. " He overheard Xander and me talking, 'bout Buffy and...well he was extremely hurt...and he stormed out."

" Yeah, we thought he was gonna become Spike toast in the sun and all, but evidently Spike was one step ahead of us. " Anya didn't look like it, but inside she was nervous for Spike. They had bounded. He was her friend.

" So you don't believe that Buffy is alive?" Dawn was pissed and she showed it.

" No...it's not that, Dawnster. It's just that this is so shocking. After all these months. Why now? How? The picture is just so blurry still."

" I know Spike. And if Spike said he saw Buffy, then he saw Buffy." Her own statement brought a chill down her back. " I'll be in my room!" 

She ran upstairs with unprecedented speed.

" Dawn, wait!" Willow cried. But it was too late. Her words were drowned out by the sound of the door slamming.

" Damn!" a frustrated Xander let out as he made his way towards the couch.

******************* 

The gates to the cemetery fluttered against the harsh wind. The rain had loosened up a bit and the visibility had improved. Spike reached the gates and flung them open. His boots compressed the muddy grass beneath them as he made his way towards home. In the distant field of grass and freshly made graves, a figure came into Spike's view. 

" 'nother one bites the dust." He said to himself as he began to open the door to his crypt. He had a feeling to look back at the figure again. He went with it. He looked up and the figure took a better shape. It was a woman. She was huddled over, what appeared to be, a fresh grave. Spike started to stroll in her direction, paying close attention to the quickly dispersing clouds.

" Shit!" He thought about heading back, but instead just quickened his pace. Quickly, his fast pace turned into a full out sprint. His boots were leaving faint impressions in the mud as he ran across the field of graves.

" What in the he..l..l?" Spike stumbled to a harsh stop about twenty yards from the woman. 

As closer inspection, Spike realized that this was in fact, a fairly young woman. The black umbrella she had over her head kept her identity a secret, but Spike remembered the clothes. What amazed him even more was that she wasn't huddled over a new grave, but instead, a freshly dug up one. The headstone was still there, but Spike couldn't make out the name. The location seemed familiar. The big tree hovered above the grave. Spike had visited this grave everyday since it was made. Yet still, it had not fully hit him yet. He knew what and who he was looking at, but the words were still catching up to him. The young lady filled them in for him.

" Buffy Anne Summers, " she began, just barely audible to Spike's ears. " She saved the world a lot." She took a deep breath and continued without moving from her position. " Guess I did, didn't I?"

Spike was silent, still trying to take it all in.

" I didn't know where I was going. I just walked and my feet brought me here. Now I know why. Was it a heroic death, Spike?"

Spike just stood there. He was taken back by the whole scene, but especially by what she said. A word just floated out of his mouth. He had no intent to say anything, just stand there and listen, but his mouth just opened.

" Buffy...that you?"

" Yeah, it's me, Spike. 

" But how'd ya know...it...?" 

" Spike, after all these years, you think I'd be able to know." Buffy remembered virtually nothing and at this point was sure that she had not known Spike for a period more than two days. But he knew her and that was all that was important. She felt comfortable, for some reason, using the word 'years'. 

" But you...you were dead...Buffy..." Spike walked closer to the kneeling figure.

" Yeah, I've been wondering about the same thing. Something inside told me that you could help me. Will you?"

" Buffy...you're here...you're really here..."

" Yeah, we got that point across, so you gonna help a girl out or what?" She slowly got up and turned towards Spike.

Spike could've gotten staked at that very moment and would've died at peace. This was the happiest moment of this vamp's existence. Just that one moment, in which she looked into his eyes, brought tears to his. She was smiling at him carelessly, not knowing what she meant to him. His eyes were passionately locked onto hers. Her blue eyes sparkled as she gave him a sly grin.

" Something wrong?" She asked the vamp, who had not taken his eyes off her.

" You're b...beautiful...just the way I remember you." Spike finally spoke.

" I...don't know what to...um...say...thanks...I guess." Buffy was lost as to the intentions of her new acquaintance.

" Why?" He asked of her.

" Why what?"

" Why were you brought back?"

" That's what I'm trying to find out. Right now, I have no memory, no nothing. The only person I could turn to was...well...you." 

" Bloody sons of bitches couldn't leave you alone. They couldn't let you rest in peace. Always thinking of ways they can help their sorry asses!" Spike looked out to the sky. 

The clouds were almost completely gone, except for one. As if by some miracle, the one cloud had blocked out the sun, giving enough time for the conversation.

" I thought you were glad to see me?" She again was very confused.

" Luv, all I ever wanted was to see your face again. But you suffered enough. You've saved this bleedin' shit of a world so many bloody times, you'd think they'd let you off the hook. Damn them!"

" Yeah, I'm still a little fuzzy on that whole ' saved the world a lot' bit. I know I'm Buffy. I know you're Spike. And I'm positive I know so much more, but I just can't remember."

" Hell, luv, you just came back from the land of the dead. How I don't know, but you did. You're not supposed to know everything just yet. It's a workin' progress and I'll be there with you every step of the way." Spike was looking back at Buffy now.

" Thanks." She smiled and started walking towards the crypt.

" Where you going?" Spike asked as he followed behind her, keeping a watchful eye on the sky.

" I don't know. I have this strange feeling that you'd much rather be indoors right now."

" You know." Spike smiled.

" Know what? " The bewildered Buffy asked.

" That...well...I'm a vamp."

" Well yeah. I can't remember, yeah, but I'm not dumb. You hang out in the cemetery, you keep looking up at the sky checking for the sun, and that whole non-breathing thing kind of gives you away." She giggled.

" Yeah, guess it does. Well, lil' miss Nancy Drew, I'm guessing you know where I live also."

" I got an idea, " she laughed, as she led the way to his crypt.

" Lead the way, luv."

Spike stopped to tie his unlaced boot, as Buffy continued towards the crypt. He got up and looked at the beautiful slayer as she strode ahead. He gave a quick smirk and went to catch up. Buffy stopped at the door and waited for Spike.

" After you, my vampire friend."

"No, no, ladies first," Spike gave way to the slayer and followed behind, closing the door behind them.

The sun struck the door with full blast as it swung shut.

TBC...


End file.
